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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Africa at First Glance

It’s been just over one
week since I’ve hit African soil. We spent two nights in Lusaka at the Cheshire
Homes, then made our way to Mongu on the 18th where our
accommodations are beautiful. The sun is out shinning everyday which may make
some of you back home a little jealous as I hear it’s been well below zero and
lots of snow! Everyone (literally every person we pass by) is so welcoming and
friendly and you are always greeted. I go to sleep hearing “Makuwa, how are
you?!” because a minute does not go by when we aren’t hearing children say this
as they’re running down the street after us. The sense of community and family
is vibrant.I’m currently in the middle of my
first week at the hospital. I am placed on maternity at present and happy that
I am in my area of comfort for the first week. Although it’s only been a few
days I’ve had many great experiences. I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of multiple
deliveries each day, learn from the midwives and doctors, and experience the
variation in healthcare. Although there are areas here that lack resources and
technology that we have become so accustom to in Canada, the staff does
incredible work with what they do have available. The patients I have worked
with are gracious, appreciative and resilient.

This Friday we leave for a two night
Safari which I am very excited for! It’s about a 4 hour commute each way, but
we will each have our own seat on the bus which will be nice for a change! Upon
arrival to Zambia, we quickly learned that we don’t put as many people in a car
as there are seatbelts, but rather as many as you can possible stack on top of
each other. Good thing none of us have personal bubble issues!

That’s
all for now, hope all is going well back home! Sending all my love from Mongu
to my friends and family:)